RBI Rationalizes Reporting of Foreign Investment in SMF on FIRMS Portal

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has rationalized the reporting of foreign investment in SMF on FIRMS portal. As part of this, the RBI has stated that the forms submitted on the portal will be auto-acknowledged. The AD banks shall verify the same within five working days based on the uploaded documents, as specified.

In cases of delayed reporting, the AD banks shall either advise the Late Submission Fee (LSF) to the applicants, which will be computed by the system or advise for compounding of contravention, as the case may be, RBI said.

The forms submitted in FIRMS will now be processed as detailed below. All forms submitted with the requisite documents will be auto-acknowledged on the FIRMS portal with a time stamp and an auto-generated e-mail will be sent to the applicant.

1. The forms submitted within prescribed timelines, will be verified by the AD banks based on the uploaded mandatory documents and ensure that the same are in compliance with the extant guidelines.
2. The system would identify the delay in reporting, if any.
3. For forms filed with a delay less than or equal to three years, the AD banks will approve the same, subject to payment of LSF.
4. The LSF will be computed by the system and an e-mail will be sent to the applicant and the concerned Regional Office (RO) of RBI specifying the amount and the timeline within which it is to be paid to the concerned RO of RBI.
5. Once the LSF amount is realised, the concerned RO will update the status in the FIRMS portal and the updated status will be communicated to the applicant through a system generated e-mail, which can also be viewed in the FIRMS portal.
6. The AD bank will approve the forms filed with a delay greater than three years, subject to compounding of contravention. The applicant may thereafter approach RBI with their application for compounding.
7. The remarks of the AD Bank for rejection of forms, if any, will be communicated to the applicant through a system generated e-mail and the same can also be viewed in the FIRMS portal.

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